Ireland

Beer can

Cans have been used to store food and drinks for over 200 years. The first cans were made of tin and later, cans were made of steel. The first aluminium drinking can was produced in 1958. The typical ‘ring pull’ to open your drinking can was introduced in 1961. Europe’s first and still only aluminium recycling plant is in Warrington in the UK and it is the largest recycler of aluminium drink cans in the world. 20 cans can be made with the energy that is needed to produce one can from aluminium ore.

Brick houses

During the onset of the Industrial period, the use of bricks as a building material began replacing stone due to efficiency and economy.

Bricks (in particular, fired bricks) have a reputation for being the strongest and longest-lasting building materials. Bricks are made of a kneaded clay-bearing soil, sand and lime, or concrete material, fire-hardened or air-dried, used in masonry construction. Air-dried bricks (or mudbricks) have an additional ingredient of a mechanical binder such as straw.